Perceptions
by Dragonfly-Moonlight
Summary: Inspired by the first set of themes at 5-sense. A five-part snippet series looking into the lives of Dee and Ryo.
1. Chapter 1:  Taste

Disclaimer: I don't own Fake, and I don't profit financially from writing this story.

Author's Note: This was written inspired by the themes found at the livejournal writing challenge community, 5-sense, using the primary list of the five senses: Taste, touch, sound, smell, and sight.

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><p>There were many things in life Ryo had yet to experience. There were many things in life he would never experience. Such knowledge was not lost on the sandy-haired detective, and he accepted that there were would be events in his life that would take place and events that would never be. Such was life, and he had the foresight to be able to discern what events would mean more to him.<p>

Dee Laytner entering his life with the flair of a cocky bastard and the smile of angel and turning everything all topsy turvy was not something Ryo had ever expected. However, just because it was not something he had ever counted on or planned to happen did not mean he was less grateful for his partner's role in his life. Dee created new things, new idea, and new perceptions for Ryo. New sensations often assaulted Ryo, and they were often due to simple things, like the taste of tobacco on Dee's lips when they were making love with the window open, or enjoying some cold beers and a piping hot pizza on a Thursday night. They were things Ryo enjoyed, looked forward to whenever such moments presented themselves, which only proved to him one simple truth.

There were many things in life Ryo had yet to experience, and he looked forward to each and every one of them, so long as he could share them with Dee.


	2. Chapter 2: Sight

Before he met Ryo, Dee would have never considered himself a blind man. He saw life for everything it had to offer him. There were plenty of good-looking men and women for him to feast his eyes upon and their company to keep him satisfied until the next thrill came along.

Everything changed after Ryo had become his partner and Dee began to see the angel and heart of gold hidden within dark eyes and a quiet demeanor. Suddenly, those other people were no longer quite as beautiful, and he wondered why he had bothered with them. Ryo had truly opened his eyes, given him his sight back, and he felt reminded, often painfully, of the one friend of his who never got the chance.

Dee dusted off the box securing the pictures from his childhood he kept hidden away in his closet. They were precious few, given he grew up in an orphanage, but there were some all the same. Most of them had been given to him by Arnon's mom a few weeks after his death. In looking at them, Dee often wondered what could have been, if Jess had not introduced Arnon to the scum who eventually would be the cause of his tragic death. Then he would shake himself out of his reveries and his wishings. Ryo and Arnon would be great friends, if Arnon were still alive. That much Dee knew. They were both excellent at giving a man new sight.

He raised his beer in toast as he came across Arnon's picture.

"To the two greatest friends a guy could ever have."


	3. Chapter 3: Touch

Ryo was not ordinarily a touchy, feely type of person. His personal space was his personal space and woe to the one who tried to invade it. Everyone knew when to slap to the sandy-haired detective on the back and when to give him a wide berth.

Except when it came to Dee, their co-workers noted. Dee could pounce on him, lean over his shoulder, and plant a sloppy one on him whenever the mood struck the green-eyed man. Why, no one could ever truly understand, and most dismissed it as Ryo being Ryo and that it was because Ryo was totally in love with Dee. Everyone knew the quiet, mild-mannered detective had punched Commissioner Rose (twice) when he had tried making advances on the sandy-haired man. The first time was rumour only, though when it reached Dee, he laughed about it. The second time there were no doubts.

It happened when everyone had gone to the bar one night, and the moment Rose touched Ryo on the shoulder. Dee had given Ryo a wide berth all day, and everyone understood his reasons for doing so. Ryo, most often mild-mannered and quiet-spoken, was not quite so mild-mannered that day and had taken to snapping at everyone. Dee seemed exempt, as usual, but then Dee knew what was bothering Ryo. As such, he only touched Ryo when he felt he would not have his head snapped off for doing so. How he knew when to do that, one could only guess. To everyone involved, Ryo sent the signals to Dee and Dee alone, whatever the indications were. They immediately took to following Dee's example for the rest of the day so they would not become the subject of Ryo's wrath.

Rose, on the other hand, had no such luck in learning when he could and could not approach Ryo. Try as he might (and everyone knew), his dreams of bedding the sandy-haired detective were simply that: dreams. Still, he seemed determined to continue his efforts of at least getting Ryo into his bed and driving a wedge between Dee and the sandy-haired detective. The evening in question had been no exception.

Except for when his hand came to rest on Ryo's shoulder. Before anyone could blink or even have a chance to realize what was going on, Ryo whirled around, his hand balled into a fist. The Commissioner stumbled backwards, his head tilting back in the process. No one said a word. No one dared to even breathe, really. Even Dee stared in shock at his partner and kept more than a respectful distance from Ryo.

"Do not," Ryo said, a finger pointed at the Commissioner, "touch me _ever_ again."

To everyone's knowledge, Rose never did.


	4. Chapter 4: Smell

There were three things in life that could never be hidden for long, according to the Buddha. Those three things were the sun, the moon, and the truth. When Dee first heard that saying (or read, as it was on a bookmark(1) he purchased when buying books for that simian brat, Bikky, to read), he knew it to be true. Clouds could always obscure the sun and the moon, the moon may go dark for a few days because of its phases, but they never stayed hidden long.

It was the same for the truth. With a little digging at times, the truth revealed itself to the world, and Dee often prided himself on his ability to see the truth and be able to dig it out when needed. There was just one thing the Buddha forgot to mention.

The truth also hurt. The truth could slice a man to the bone with the razor sharpness, leaving him with an emotional wound so devastating, so debilitating, he could not breathe. His world collapsed and shattered around him.

At least, that is how Dee felt when he saw Ryo with _him_, with Commissioner Rose. The scent of Rose's cologne had hung heavily over Ryo one day as well as something . . . else, something Dee recognized yet could not put a name to, and it was how he was tipped off to their activities. He started to follow them, to be as discreet as he possibly could for there was nothing he could not accomplish once he set his mind to something.

It had been an hour, maybe longer, after Dee had caught them in their tryst, yet he had not confronted them. They _were_ in the middle of a stake-out, and to confront them would be to endanger the child prostitution/slave ring they were trying to tear apart. Even with his heart shattering and jealousy raging through his blood, Dee would never do anything to allow criminals to walk free. So now he sat in front of his apartment complex, the rain soaking him to his flesh. The ache in his heart felt more surely to drown him, to suffocate him with his sorrows than the rain. The rain hid his tears anyway.

What had changed? Why had Ryo gone to the Commissioner, of all people? Was it something Dee said or did not say? Was it something he did or did not do? Was he ignoring Ryo's needs? Dee did not think he had done so, but what he thought and the actual truth of the matter were two different things. What was he to do now? Should he keep quiet on what he saw? He could not pretend he had not seen them kissing and undressing each other. He could not pretend he had not seen the look of pure and unadulterated bliss on Ryo's face as Rose pounded himself into Ryo's body. Everything had been there. How could he pretend he had not seen? Should he confront Ryo about what he had seen? Did he want to confront his partner? He still loved and desired Ryo above all others. It had been a long time since he felt such a strong emotional bond with another person. He did not want to lose that. To lose Ryo would be to feel abandoned all over again, and Dee did not want to be abandoned, either. Knowing that he had been left to die by his biological parents cut him deeply. Losing Jesse and Arnon had as well. What would he do if Ryo decided to leave him without him saying a word?

As he sat on the cold stone leading into the building, with his heart aching and threatening to kill him where he was, something inside of Dee fell. Whether it was truly his heart or his soul, he was not certain but he felt it the moment it fell. It reminded him of his first vacation with Ryo, before Commissioner Rose entered their lives, when he saw the spirit of the innkeeper's daughter in the middle of the lobby. There had been a scent in the air then, too, only he and Bikky had been too terrified to notice it right away, the scent of blood.

Upon it tickling his senses, Dee glanced up . . .

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><p>1 - The quote is on a bookmark that I own. I thought it was a great way to start this little drabble piece.<p> 


	5. Chapter 5: Sound

The room was too noisy, in Ryo's opinion. Every single sound – the beeping of the monitors, the quiet whispers of those gathered in the room, the gentle yet confident steps of the nurses when they entered – grated upon his nerves, and he wanted to shout for everyone to be quiet. Well, not the beeping of the monitors. Despite their annoyances to him, he actually welcomed their steady rhythm. They actually told him his partner's heart still beat within his chest. They told him air reached Dee's lungs. He just did not like it when the nurses entered the room, and everyone stopped whispering to stare and to wait. They wanted news on whether or not Dee was improving, but the nurses never said anything. They simply checked on his vitals, wrote them down, and exited the room. When they were gone, the whispering resumed. He glanced around the room.

Not very many detectives from the 27th were there to visit Dee. So far, it was just he, J.J., Commissioner Rose, and Captain Smith. Ted, Drake, Marty, and Diane had to go back to attend to their duties. Just because a cop lay in a hospital bed, fighting for his life, it did not mean the criminals took time off. Murders, thefts, drug sales, all of them still took place. The world continued to spin, despite the fact Dee never moved.

Knowing the world kept on going as if nothing ever happened angered Ryo like nothing else ever could. The rage in his heart and his soul set his blood to boiling . . . no . . . not boiling. It set his blood on fire, a raging inferno no amount of water or fighting could ever allay. Fueling the rage, the anger and despair was the knowledge of where he had been and what he had been doing when his partner had been attacked. The sounds of his own pleasure struggled and clawed their way back into the forefront of his mind, drowning out the steady then erratic beeping of the monitors. Guilt over his own actions multiplied the rage and the despair, and Ryo wanted nothing more than to punch someone. Preferably himself, but to do so would raise questions. Instead, he sat there, quiet and almost as motionless as Dee. His mind, his conscious, refused to remain still, however, and the questions assaulted him like nothing else ever could.

'Why? Why did I involve myself with Rose like that?' he asked himself . . . No. He did not ask himself. His inner voice screamed at him. 'It shouldn't have happened! Never ever! I love Dee, and he knows it! So why, damn it? Why? Why did I do something so stupid?'

For that, he had no answers. At least, he had no answers that did not sound like excuses. Sure, he felt as if Dee had been ignoring him lately, but that had not been entirely true. The nights when Dee had not pounced him were the nights following the double shifts, and Ryo himself had wanted nothing more than to simply crawl into bed and sleep.

And it had been nice, to simply lay there in bed, in each other's arms. It had been nice to simply feel the steady rising and falling of Dee's chest as he breathed and slept. So why had he felt so deprived? Why had he turned to Rose, of all people? Dee despised Rose so why? Shame burned through him, replacing the rage, and he inched closer to Dee until he was able to take his partner's hand into his and simply out.

'I swear, I will tell you the truth,' Ryo promised as he gazed at Dee's prone form. 'But you need to come back to me. Please. I will do anything to have you open your eyes. Please. Give me a sign you're still with me, Dee. Please.'

The steady then erratic beeping of the monitors, the gentle yet confident steps of the nurses entering the room, and the quiet whispered conversations were his only responses.

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><p>Author's Note: Since this is only a five-part challenge, the story is <em>technically<em> completed. As I said in my first author's note, it's inspired by the 5-senses writing community over at livejournal. In some ways, it feels incomplete to me, but whether or not I'll find the inspiration to write a sequel, I don't know. We'll see what time and creativity bring to me.

Thanks for reading!


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